I'm so tired of being there for everyone but me...

I am back from my longest blog break to date. I have been in Abilene since Saturday seeing friends and spending time with my family. It is certainly different being in Texas than the Washington bubble. I am still working on my plans for this summer and next fall and after that. Any input/suggestions would be appreciated.

When I was at Caroline's last night, we were flipping channels and came across a House Ag Committee hearing on C-SPAN2. This was the same hearing that I went to a briefing on on Friday. Suprisingly, no one else in the room was interested in sticking around and watching witnesses from USDA and the FDA testify about food safety. Also, as I was reading the news yesterday, I happened upon the following picture. The gentleman in the foreground is Texas A&M president turned Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. If you look towards the background, you will notice a CodePink protester holding up a sign. This is the very same protester that I literally ran into in the vaunted Halls of Congress a mere few weeks ago. It is nice to know that even if I am not there, it is business as usual at the Capitol. Finally, congratulations to Caroline Green for naming last Friday's song of the day.

Man dreams one day to fly...

Tonight is my last night in DC. I went and hung out at the Tech house for a while and then headed back to the apartment to finish my packing. While I was at work today, WISH moved in a couch and a chair in my abode. I guess it is better late than never. The day at work was pretty slow. I gave a couple of tours, and that was about it.

I have been doing a lot of thinking about my time in DC. I have enjoyed my experience up here, but I do not plan on moving back until I am a member of Congress. I feel like I have learned a lot and certainly grown a lot. It is time to go home though. It is time to move on and do other things. I am not sure what those other things are, but they are coming. That's all for tonight...

It's the time of the season for loving...

Again not much to report here. The highlight of my day was hauling a box about a mile to a FedEx store to ship it home. I packed another box tonight, so I imagine I will be making the hike again tomorrow. The Mavs face off against the Warriors in the crucial game 6 tonight. The Mavs need to win to force a game 7 in Dallas. Tomorrow is my last day of work. I am only a few days away from being home! That's all for tonight...

She's gonna live in America...

I will keep tonight's blog short becaue I am in the middle of packing. I have already overstuffed one box that I will be shipping down to Texas. I am trying to fit my remaining possesions in my two suitcases, one of which is a hanging bag. It is going to be quite a challenge. The Dallas Mavericks did end up winning last night, forcing a Game 6 in Oakland on Thrusday. In Champions League action, A.C. Milan dominated Manchester United in Italy 3-0 today. (A soccer note. The preceding score is not pronounced "Three-Zero" but rather "Three-Nil." I just think you should know these things.) I talked yesterday on the phone to Micah. Normally Micah does not want to talk to me because he is too busy playing, but yesterday he spoke to me to specifically request that I pick something up for him in D.C. Tonight I trekked to Adams Morgan was picked up that something (injera) from an Ethiopian grocer. I hope Micah's happy. Finally, I learned something interesting from the Good Congressman today. When he was elected in 2003 in a special election, he defeated K. Michael Conaway by 500 something votes. Fastforward to the 2004 election where the same K. Michael Conaway won the race for the newly created Midland congressional district. Now Rep. Conaway and my boss work closely together on a number of issues. Luckily for both of them, the 2003 campaign was strictly positive, so there are no hard feelings still smoldering. That's all for tonight...

Stop making the eyes at me...

Currently, the Mavs are playing like they have seen a basketball before. In case you have not been paying attention, the lowly Golden State Warriors have been playing lights out and are one win away from eliminating the 67-win Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs. Dallas star Dirk Nowitzki has collapsed under the pressure, putting up below average numbers in the most crucial games of the season. Coach Avery Johnson called Dirk out, telling him to stop making excuses and start getting things done. Hopefully, this challenge will result in improved effort on Nowitzki's part.

In soccer news, the Liverpool/Chelsea match ended with a dominating shootout victory by the 'Pool. After playing 210 minutes, the match moved to penalty kicks. Reds' keeper Pepe Reina saved two of the three shots from the spot that he faced. This, coupled with Liverpool perfection in the shootout, was enough to propel the boys from Anfield on to the Champions League finals. Chelsea coach Jose Mourihno claimed that the better team lost. Next time we won't play the game, we will just take Jose's word for it. Liverpool will face off against either A.C. Milan or Manchester United in Athens at the end of May. If anyone has a couple thousand dollars they would like to throw my way for airfare, lodging, and tickets, I would appreciate it.

Brittney (the other intern) and I had lunch with the Good Congressman in the Member's Dining Room today. The food was pretty good. I had bean soup (FYI- my mom just passed out. Yes, you did read that right. I had bean soup) and a chicken ceasar salad. The bean soup is a House specialty and dates back to the early 1900s when it was the favorite of the then Speaker of the House. The only member in the dining room that I recognized was Mr. Leprechaun himself, Dennis Kucinich. It was interesting to see all the member in there though. Most were meeting with constituents or lobbyist types, but one congressman was having a lunch with his 10ish year old daughter. It was nice to see.

I was a little late to work today because I could not find my shoes. The reason I could not find my shoes was because my roommate, The New Guy, was wearing them. He was about to walk out the door on his way to work when I realized he was wearing my zapatos. I called him on it. He said he got them confused with his shoes because "they look similar." By similar, he means that they are both brown. I do believe he was honestly mistaken because he has the common sense of a two year old. I wore my navy suit with a white shirt and a red tie today. Finally, this is my 100th post. Thank you for being a faithful reader. That's all for tonight...